Trailer light problem

[Alex Peterson]

My trailer lights recently got mad at me for unknown reason and have since gone on strike. Both my rear ones will light up when I hit the brakes or put my hazards on, but the regular night time running lights do not work. The yellow running lights on the side of the trailer do, but the red ones in back do not. I have checked every single fuse in my truck and they are all good. What is the best place to start troubleshooting? I attempted to fix it yesterday but there is no place to check the wiring because its all in the frame of the trailer. Any suggestions? I have a stock 1998 Tracker trailer that came with my PT185.

Thanks, Alex

 

[brooks williams]

I'd start at the ground. If the lights work some of the time, theres a good chance the ground is the culprit.

 

[Alex Peterson]

They don't even work some of the time. The back ones never work and the yellow side lights always work.

 

[Jim in VA]

With all due respect to brooks, I don't think its the ground. The turn signals and brake lamps work which means the ground and that hot wire are good. Since the ground is common for both, I don't think the issue is there. The yellow running lights work which means you are getting some power to the lights. The issues seems to be isolated to the back lights only. Therefore, I would check the bulbs first. Both bulbs should be dual filament with both filaments intact - not just one. You should see four stalks with one filament between each set of stalks. Then I would check the sockets for the bulbs to make sure the bulbs are seating well and touching both contacts (i.e., see if there is undue wear on the bulb ends or the socket). Then I would check the connection to the socket and any connections between the wires out of the socket back to trailer running lights.

 

[Jeffrey Durham]

I had the exact same problem with my 185 last week and it turned out to be the plug on the truck or boat. I replaced both and now it works perfectly. The plug looked ok but for some reason the connection just wasnt connecting.